Haunted Places in Annapolis, MD: 6 Places to Visit or Stay
A plasterer who fell from the State House dome in 1793, a bride on the fourth floor of the Maryland Inn and a mansion said to hide a body in its walls. Annapolis packs its ghosts into a few colonial blocks, and you can sleep in three of them.
Annapolis was briefly the nation’s capital, and its ghost stories come from that colonial heart: the State House where Washington resigned his commission, the taverns that served the delegates and the brick mansions of the men who signed the Declaration. Everything on this list is within a short walk of Church Circle and the City Dock, which makes the city one of the easiest places in Maryland for a self-guided ghost walk. We have checked every place below against current sources, including which are open, which you can only see from the street and which take overnight guests.
Where to look The fourth floor and Room 405, the basement taproom, the main staircase
Reported ghosts The Bride, Captain Charles Campbell, a woman in black, singing soldiers
Visiting A working hotel: book a room to stay the night
Ghost hunting No public ghost hunts; stay the night instead
The wedge-shaped Maryland Inn fills the point between Main Street and Duke of Gloucester Street on Church Circle. Merchant Thomas Hyde leased the lot in 1772 and built the front of the house, and by 1784 Sarah Ball was running it as a tavern, the year Annapolis served as the nation’s capital. Today it is one of the three Historic Inns of Annapolis, with 44 rooms above the Drummer’s Lot Pub.
Its best-known ghost is the Bride. Local legend says her fiance, a Navy captain, was killed by a carriage outside the inn as he came back to marry her, and she threw herself from a fourth-floor window. Guests on that floor, and in Room 405 in particular, describe pacing footsteps and a cold presence at the foot of the bed, while the captain is said to appear in uniform in the basement taproom.
Haunted Rooms tip: Ask for Room 405 or anything on the fourth floor when you book, and join one of the evening Annapolis ghost tours that start on the inn’s front steps.
Where to look The walls and cellar of the house, seen from East Street
Reported ghosts A young woman's remains said to have been found in a wall, screams and pounding heard at night
Visiting Closed for restoration; view from the street
Tours A stop on Annapolis ghost walks
Ghost hunting Closed to the public
James Brice, a lawyer, planter and later acting governor of Maryland, laid the cornerstone of this brick mansion on April 14, 1767, and finished it seven years later. As many as 28 enslaved people were held at the house or forced to work on it, and archaeologists found hoodoo caches they left in 1998. The State of Maryland bought it in 2014, and Historic Annapolis is restoring it; it is closed to the public.
Local ghost tours call it the most haunted building in Annapolis. The stories say workers found a young woman’s remains sealed in a wall, sometimes with scratch marks inside, and that people passing at night hear screams, wailing and pounding on the walls. They are told as legend, and we have found no record of a body in the walls.
Haunted Rooms tip: See it from East Street on an evening ghost walk; the house is closed during its restoration.
Where to look The wooden dome and its windows, the Old Senate Chamber and the State Circle grounds
Reported ghosts Thomas Dance, the plasterer who fell from the dome in 1793; a Revolutionary-era soldier on the grounds
Visiting Working capitol open to the public; photo ID and security screening
Tours A stop on Annapolis evening ghost walks
Hours and season Daily 8:30 AM to 5 PM (closed Christmas and New Year’s Day)
Tickets Free
Ghost hunting No investigations
The oldest state capitol still used by its legislature, the State House was begun in 1772 and briefly served as the nation’s capitol: George Washington resigned his commission in the Old Senate Chamber on December 23, 1783, and Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris here on January 14, 1784. Its timber dome, held together with wooden pegs, is the largest of its kind in the country.
The dome has a real death behind its ghost story. Maryland State Archives records show that Thomas Dance, a plasterer, fell from the upper scaffold in 1793, and his widow petitioned for help to take herself and her daughter home. Some say a light moves near the dark dome windows, and visitors and locals also speak of a soldier in Revolutionary-era dress on the grounds.
Haunted Rooms tip: The building is open daily with photo ID; stand in the Old Senate Chamber, then walk State Circle after dark to look up at the dome.
Where to look The upstairs bedrooms, the kitchen and the 1747 Pub in the cellar
Reported ghosts Mary Reynolds, the tavern keeper's widow, and others
Visiting A working hotel: book a room to stay the night
Ghost hunting No public ghost hunts; stay the night instead
Reynolds Tavern has stood on Church Circle since about 1747, when hatter William Reynolds opened the Beaver and Lac’d Hat here. It later served as a bank, a cashier’s home and the city library, was saved from demolition for a gas station, and since its restoration has been a restaurant, tea room and cellar pub with just three rooms upstairs: the Washington and Jefferson Suites and the Mary Reynolds Room.
The ghost is said to be Mary Reynolds, who ran the tavern after William’s death. Owners and staff have described human-shaped dents in a made-up bed upstairs, objects moving and a woman’s voice singing Christmas carols. A 2004 overnight investigation by a local ghost society claimed five spirits, and a dish broke in the kitchen while it was under way.
Haunted Rooms tip: Book the Mary Reynolds Room, named for the ghost herself, and have a drink in the 1747 Pub in the old cellar before bed.
Where to look The glass floor over the hypocaust in the lobby, the attic and the upstairs guest rooms
Reported ghosts Faces in the glass floor, a man in 18th-century dress, a spirit called Dominic
Visiting A working hotel: book a room to stay the night
Ghost hunting No public ghost hunts; stay the night instead
Facing the Maryland State House across State Circle, the Governor Calvert House grew from a brick home built around 1728 for Governor Charles Calvert, a cousin of the fifth Lord Baltimore. Fire, lightning and two centuries of use as barracks, a printer’s home, a mayor’s residence and apartments followed before it reopened as an inn in the 1980s. It is now one of the three Historic Inns of Annapolis.
Under a glass panel in the lobby you can see a colonial hypocaust, a Roman-style heating system found by archaeologists in the 1980s. Guests say they have seen faces looking back from that glass. Other stories tell of a man in 18th-century clothes in the lobby, noises from the sealed attic, and a mischievous spirit known as Dominic who is said to linger in the bedrooms.
Haunted Rooms tip: Stand over the glass floor in the lobby late in the evening, and ask for one of the Historic King rooms in the original house rather than the newer wing.
Reported ghosts Roland, a friendly figure in 18th-century military dress; cigar smoke on the balcony
Visiting Working restaurant and bar
Tours A stop on Annapolis ghost tours
Hours and season Daily from 11:30 AM (10 AM Sunday)
Ghost hunting No investigations
On the City Dock, Middleton Tavern traces its business to 1750, when Horatio Middleton opened an inn for seafaring men; his son ran it after him, and it claims George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin among its patrons. It is one of the oldest continuously operating taverns in the country and is still a busy restaurant and bar.
The tavern’s ghost is Roland, a friendly figure in 18th-century military dress seen near the staircase and treated as the building’s protector. Staff also tell of cigar smoke on the upper balcony with no smoker in sight. One theory ties the ghost to George Schmidt, killed in front of the building in 1876. Older lists put Middleton Tavern in Baltimore, but it is in Annapolis.
Haunted Rooms tip: Get a window seat looking over the City Dock, then join an Annapolis ghost walk; several start nearby.
Visiting a haunted place by day is one thing. Investigating one after dark is another. On a Haunted Rooms ghost hunt our team takes you through a historic building with professional ghost hunting equipment, runs EVP sessions and vigils, and gives you time to explore on your own. These are the nearest ones we run.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the most haunted place in Annapolis?
Local ghost tours call the James Brice House the most haunted building in the city, and the Maryland Inn is the most haunted place you can stay. The State House has the best documented story: plasterer Thomas Dance really did fall from the dome scaffold in 1793.
Can you stay in a haunted hotel in Annapolis?
Yes. The Maryland Inn, the Governor Calvert House and Reynolds Tavern all take overnight guests and all have ghost stories. Ask for Room 405 at the Maryland Inn or the Mary Reynolds Room at Reynolds Tavern.
Can you go inside the Maryland State House?
Yes. It is open daily from 8:30 AM to 5 PM, except Christmas and New Year’s Day. Bring photo ID, as there is security screening, and stand in the Old Senate Chamber where Washington resigned his commission.
Can you visit the Brice House?
Not inside for now. The State of Maryland bought it in 2014 and Historic Annapolis is restoring it to its 1774 appearance, so it is closed to the public. You can see it from East Street, and evening ghost walks stop outside.
Who is the ghost at Middleton Tavern?
Staff call him Roland, a friendly figure in 18th-century military dress seen near the staircase. Cigar smoke on the upper balcony is blamed on him too. Older lists put the tavern in Baltimore, but it is on the Annapolis City Dock.
Are there ghost hunts near Annapolis?
Yes. Haunted Rooms runs overnight ghost hunts at Linville Manor in Upper Marlboro, about 20 miles west of Annapolis, with suites you can sleep in after the investigation.
Sources and how we research
Every place in this guide is checked against its official website, historic register listings and news coverage, and we confirm whether it is open, closed, private or gone before we list it. Ghost stories are reported as staff, visitors and local historians tell them; we say so where records contradict a story.
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About the authors
The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every place in our guides using official sites, historic registers, local archives and news coverage, and we report ghost stories as the stories they are. We review each guide regularly so you are not sent to a place that has closed, changed hands or banned visitors. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
